The Undiscovered Country
by atheistbasementdragon
Summary: God Rising Author Universe. SKIP TO AVOID SPOILERS. 150 years has passed since the War for the New World, and a new, unexpected resource has been discovered in the mountains of the former Elf Kingdom. Heads of state who view this with interest come to Nazarick to settle on its use, however a certain halfelf has her eyes on a very different prize, a denizen of Nazarick long desired.
1. All Grown Up

**AN: Welcome to the first chapter of a commissioned piece, I do hope you enjoy it. First, let me assure you that none of my stories are 'dropped' I finish them all. Some are on temporary hold because of the spoilers I don't yet want to reveal, but when the main story progresses to the point I can write them in tandem. Kind of like how I did with 'The Queen in the Sword' and 'God Rising' as well as 'Enemy Mine' and 'God Rising'. **

**BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: I've started writing my own ORIGINAL work. Obviously I CAN'T post it on FFN. HOWEVER, you can find it on my discord (link in the author description) or m dot dom slash tellingstories. YES it is an Isekai, NO it is not like any of them you'll have ever seen before. For starters, the main character is a dragon, from a world of dragons, thrust into a world of races like humans, dwarves, elves, etc. For another, you know by now how I am about worldbuilding, so unconstrained by canonical limitations, I'm taking on details others have not, I've created a functional language, and people won't all just 'start off' speaking the same language, learning how to talk to one another will explain how they see each other and their world. I've actually read some of it aloud on discord, and it seems to be going over well. So, if you'd like to see a whole new story unfold early on, 'Scales of Trust' has its first chapter up. Alright, on with the show! **

_...One Hundred and Fifty Years After the War for the New World…_

Ainz was having a tranquil moment on the throne the day when the word came that a mountain range in the south of the elven province had been discovered by explorers to have another deep chasm like that of the Understone Imperial province. He was still having a tranquil day a few weeks later when it was reported to him that there was a very large group of creatures at the bottom of it which were similar to those that produced plasmic crystals. However when he read the part about how these creatures were actually 'red' and produced red plasmic crystals that may have all new properties with respect to their magic utility, he ceased to be tranquil.

Far from it, he was utterly thrilled, however that brought up a whole new question. "Who shall we have handle it?" Demiurge asked, standing at his lord's left hand.

Albedo, at his right hand, thought it over. "A century ago I would have said we should appoint someone from Nazarick, but the mortal servants have seen to their tasks well enough and we don't have enough people here."

"The dwarves will clamor to have some of theirs managing the underlands beneath the mountains." Ainz said thoughtfully.

"Which ones, Lord Ainz?" She asked.

"All of them." Ainz replied abruptly.

"But it is within an area ruled by Queen Zesshi, and such beasts will be enormously profitable. By rights, her province should benefit most from it, there aren't even any dwarven colonies there yet." Demiurge pointed out.

"True, but the elves despise the undercity environments, Vanysa showed me the economic reports and tourism of the dwarven regions is… pardon the pun, rock bottom among the elves." Albedo pointed out in passing.

"Well, bring Zesshi here, along with representatives from the dwarven provinces, and we'll settle on an agreement that yields the greatest benefit for the Sorcerous Empire and leaves each of them happy." Ainz proposed, eager to escape the burden of settling the matter himself.

"As expected of Lord Ainz, they'll reveal their own wants and you will twist them to your benefit." Demiurge said proudly.

"Yes, as expected of the one I love." Albedo said, touching her hands to her face and sighing with deep affection.

"Well, send out the notices and see it done, better to head things off now before word spreads too widely about this new resource and greed grows beyond restraint." Ainz pointed out, while privately reveling in all that he might gain from this newly found avenue of study and invention.

"At once my lord!" Albedo said, and after bowing, both she and Demiurge departed to see to crafting a suitable invitation for heads of state.

"Oh, and send Mare to see me, I should talk to him about Zesshi's visit." Ainz said casually as they left.

"As you wish, My Lord." The pair responded, turning once more to bow, before they resumed their exit.

When Mare learned of Zesshi's pending visit, he was just a little bit uncomfortable. She'd always seemed uncommonly interested in him, even when he was fairly young, since the day he had, as Aura put it, made her eat Nazarick's dirt. He swept his hand through his now long luxuriant hair. His ears twitched unconsciously and he fidgeted with his staff.

It wasn't that he disliked her, he'd seen her off and on over the years as he'd grown up from a child into a young man, she'd always been nice to him and to Aura. His sister by contrast, always seemed to glare at her, especially as she'd grown into a young woman. "Nobody's taking my brother." Was all she'd say before starting to sulk whenever he brought up her evident dislike. He rolled his eyes and got out of his hammock, Lord Ainz wanted to see him, and delay would not do. One of the long term dark elf servants approached and handed him his pants, which he put on himself. Early attempts by the servant to do it for him had been… embarrassing, but corrected.

A short while later he found himself alone in Ainz's private office. His Lord sat there behind his desk, and as Mare bowed, Ainz gestured for Mare to sit. He did as he was asked, and Ainz coughed uncomfortably. It was a man, not a boy, who sat before him now, and sometimes little things, such as the height he had when seated in a chair, reminded him of that.

Mare though, was reminded by the cough of his lord, how unique the Sorcerer King was. Little gestures and behaviors, inconsequential though they may have been to others were those things that made him stand out in subtle ways. Neia had mentioned it when he was a child, such tiny things told her he was not a simple ordinary undead.

Mare didn't get it at the time, but as he matured and gained more experience, he'd come to understand what she meant. Most undead had little personality and no real sense of how to interact with others beyond the simple ways, they never felt awkward or uncomfortable.

That his lord could, meant the world to Mare, because it showed he could truly value the emotional wellbeing of his subordinates and he was unhappy delivering any news they wouldn't like. Ever solicitous of the Sorcerer King, Mare smiled encouragingly. Ainz sat back in his chair, "Mare, do you remember the day you fought Zesshi?"

"Oh ah, yes, of course My Lord." Mare replied curiously, his anxious stutter had faded mostly over the years, at least within familiar circumstances, but his face was still as sensitive as ever, and he unthinkingly bit his lip.

"Did the servants attending to your needs, do a thorough job explaining sex and your maturing to you, so that you understand being an adult?" Ainz asked, moving one of his hands over top of the other on the desk.

Mare blushed, "Yes My Lord, they ah, even offered to demonstrate, but I said no!" He said nervously and perhaps somewhat louder than he needed to, he fidgeted in his chair. A nervous sense increased as he wondered how those two questions were related.

He did not wonder long.

Ainz sighed, "I owe you an explanation for this odd line of questioning," he said and paused, letting the silence hang in the air a moment before continuing, "when the war was still nearing its fever pitch, Zesshi was still part of the Slane Theocracy. She however, had been grossly deceived, to say nothing of mistreated. The girl, Aorli, you remember her?" Ainz asked.

Mare nodded. "Ah, well yes, she brings me plants from her region. She's nice."

"She is Zesshi's half sister, she was enslaved and abused by the Theocracy for years, it was discovering this that made Zesshi turn on them, she gave us everything, including the World Item that brainwashed Shalltear. She had only a few conditions for her part of the bargain, one of which was the chance to fight a male strong enough to beat her." He said as he patiently explained a history to Mare that the elf had been unaware of.

"I ah, suppose that was me." Mare replied.

"Yes, the other condition tied to that was that she be permitted to have a child with that male if he defeated her." Ainz said, and stopped speaking to let that sink in.

Mare turned several shades of red, which came out as a pinkish hue on his tanned skin. "If-If it is my Lord's order th-then I will obey." Mare said, but Ainz shook his head.

"I would not concede on that point, I would never 'order' one of my beloved children to lie with someone against their will, let alone to make a child they did not want." Ainz's voice was so ironclad that it almost sounded outraged. "I did tell her however, that she was permitted to 'pursue' such a goal. I won't stop her from trying to forge a bond with you unless you yourself want her to stop, no one else's opinion on that matter holds weight with me."

Mare looked down thoughtfully.

"You are a young man now though, and forming such bonds is healthy and normal, there is nothing wrong with it, others have married outside of Nazarick in the past. Sebas and Tuare, Demiurge and Vanysa, our tomb is not a large one, relative to the world, and save for your servants, you have few suitable options. I want you to have a rich, happy life Mare, that is all any father wants for his children, and after so very long, I see you as much as my own child as you are Bukubukuchagama's." Ainz said in a patient, gentle voice. For all the strength in the lithe dark elf, Ainz knew quite well that Mare was at heart a somewhat sensitive young man, just as he had been when he was a young boy.

Mare was visibly moved, his eyes welled up with joyful tears, they didn't fall, the way they might have, no, would have, in his childhood, but to hear his Lord speak of him so… he could only imperfectly restrain his emotions. "My Lord, I…" Mare began to say, then could not think of how to finish the words he wanted to let pour out of him.

"Mare, you need say nothing, I trust you completely, from your heart to your spine, to your head, to the tips of your toes, whatever choices you make, they will be the right ones, for me, for Nazarick, and for yourself." Ainz said kindly. It sent Mare's mind back to one of his early memories, when Ainz offered him water in the Arena the day their world changed.

"I-I have the best Lord in all the world." Mare forced out happily.

"I try, I try." Ainz said, putting expression into his tone of voice since he hadn't a face to show kindness and aplomb that, for once, he wasn't faking.

"So ah, My Lord, what do you want me to do about… or…," the blush returned, "with Zesshi?"

"What you wish, she will pursue you, I am sure, though I will forbid it if you wish, I could order Demiurge to fight her, or Cocytus, or Pandora's Actor, any could defeat her, and I'm sure any would 'oblige' her desire for a strong heir. Yet you are different than all of them, my Mare, you might find common ground with her that others would not, so if I were to offer any advice it would be this. Once, long ago, there was a young man I knew who spent his life almost entirely alone, he never had a girlfriend, a lover, a wife, he never even had a date. All he had was a single game, and a job, as a result, the joys of his life were very few, because nature imbued him with a desire for things he couldn't have. That nature is also part of you, I suggest you explore it." Ainz said, using 'sage pose number five' and matching his tone to his posture.

"Oh, ah, OK, but My Lord, what happened to the man you knew?" Mare asked curiously, he always was weak against good stories.

Ainz chuckled deeply, "As luck would have it, things worked out for him in the end, but only by the purest chance, and far differently than he expected. He found great happiness in being a father, and had many, many children, and he wouldn't trade any of them even for an empire."

"Oh, is, is it that great?" Mare asked, curiously.

"I think so." Ainz said, "Now, why don't you go relax, it'll be a few weeks before she arrives, you can do as you like till then if all your other projects are completed or ahead of schedule, and think about what we've discussed." Ainz gestured to the door behind them.

Mare stood and bowed, "Thank you, thank you very much My Lord." Mare replied, he was so much taller now than he had once been, it moved Ainz to see him having grown to such a man.

"Of course," Ainz said, "Now I must return to my work."

Mare departed as Ainz bent back over a sheet of paper on his desk.

When Mare had returned to the sixth floor and… his hammock and his book, Aura was already waiting for him. She stood with hands on her hips, her now ample breasts were heaving as she fumed. Mare hopped into the hammock before she could even start to rant.

"S-Sister, what's wrong?" Mare asked. While he no longer stuttered in normal conversation with her, when she was angry, it still came out at least a bit.

"I just learned that hussy from the south is coming to Nazarick, she's going to be all over you again you know." Aura said angrily.

"S-Sister you make too much of it, she's always nice to us! She brings me books and plants, and she brought you those rare monsters!" Mare exclaimed defensively.

"She's just trying to get our guard lowered so she can steal away my brother! Nobody's taking you from me!" She said emphatically.

She ran her hands through her long golden hair in frustration and then they returned to her hips as she bent forward and glared at Mare. "How can you be so blind still? We're not children anymore, I may not have known what she wanted when we were only in our eighties, but I damn sure know now."

"S-Sister…" Mare wondered how many more times he'd be blushing today as he tried to relax in his hammock and flip back to the page he'd been at in his book.

She paced around, her white skirt riding slightly up as she stomped her feet imperiously. "Don't you 'Sister' me little brother, I'm not as experienced as someone like Shalltear or Vanysa or Tuare, but I know damn well what a woman wants."

"S-So what if she does?" Mare asked indifferently, "I-I can say no."

That brought Aura up short and she turned back to him. She smirked, "I know enough to be well aware of the fact that boys tend to 'not' say no in those situations."

"S-Sister, don't be lewd." Mare said as he scrunched up his nose.

Aura turned her back and went to a box she'd obviously brought with her, she opened it up and took a few things out. "It's true, and these things always turn out badly! I pulled these from the library, look at how terrible love and sex are!" She said and dropped a stack of books on Mare's chest. She snatched the first one off the top as he looked at her in surprise.

The cover read, 'Ranma ½' "This one, the two are always fighting with each other and people around them are always getting in the way, and the boy always gets into fights over her, and they even get hurt over each other all the time. Or this one," she tossed that copy aside and held a book out called 'Please Teacher', "The two have conflicts with family all the time, they fight, they don't always agree, and he even gets really sick over her, you don't want to get sick, do you?" Aura asked as she tossed that one aside back into the box with the first one.

Mare shook his head, "Or this one," she said as she pulled out a copy of Romeo and Juliet, "they kill themselves and some of their family members die! All these research materials from the Supreme Ones say romance and love is bad!" Aura exclaimed. "People lose things and forget what matters or they die or…" She was ranting now, Mare knew how this was going to go, "and I don't want to lose my little brother!"

Mare reached out and grabbed her hand, "S-Sister, I'm not going anywhere. And Lord Ainz himself said that it isn't as bad as these things may say, and who is the wisest of all the supreme beings?"

"Lord Ainz." Aura said without hesitation as her rant stopped.

"S-See? He is the wisest of them all, if he says it isn't always bad, he must be right, even if all the books of the others say otherwise. Y-You don't have to worry about anything, I don't know what'll happen, and Lord Ainz isn't going to make me do anything, s-so just lets be happy. Y-You can rest easy knowing you'll never lose me." He said sweetly.

Aura sighed, "I suppose I should take these back." She grumbled as she looked at the pile of books still sprawled all over Mare's chest.

"P-Please do, sister." Mare replied anxiously, "I'm at the good part of this book and I want to finish it."

Aura did as she was asked, but the grumbling didn't stop, it just faded away as she went out of range.

_...Crescent Lake...Three Weeks Later…_

Queen Zesshi Zetsumei was ecstatic, stepping through the portal from her land and finding herself in Nazarick always reminded her of just what kind of god she served. Before she took that step today, she brought up and dismissed the cursory thought she'd often had about what kind of child he could produce 'if' he had the necessary equipment. That always made her laugh and roll her eyes.

Still, the one to defeat her, the only one to make her eat dirt, was on the other side of that portal, and he, she was very, very much looking forward to seeing. So she stepped through, with her envoy behind her. Two attendants who had won the right to attend as her maids when this trip was announced, Thirg and Tefl Dahn, the vampire elf twins who served as her chief military advisors, one elf priest of Black Justice, and her half sister, Aorli who served as a governess of the resettled elves.

Zesshi's throne room was anything but somber as she left, not because they were glad she was going, rather the celebratory mood that filled the great hall of the palace was a result of having a monarch who was actually going to work for their benefit. Many of the oldest elves could barely recall a time when the old King had not ruled, abused, and neglected his subjects. Now? That was no longer a problem and spirits had been high ever since.

The occupants of her great hall vanished behind her as she stepped through to the other side of the gate, and then there she was at the far end of the hall of Nazarick's throne room.

Monsters lined the walls as they always did, and in the past, Zesshi would have been thinking only of which ones would be worth fighting and which ones would not be. While behind her, many a companion would have trembled in disbelief. However the last one hundred and fifty years had treated the lot of them to ample exposure to one another. As a result, suspicions had all around diminished. As Queen, Zesshi had never failed to provide her nation's taxes and she frequently sent gifts of her own in gratitude, while any visitor from Nazarick or who was blessed by the Sorcerer King could count on the finest treatment any elf anywhere could provide.

In turn, Nazarick sent good weapons, craftsmen, materials, and labor to help rebuild the former independent kingdom, the arrangement had been mutually beneficial in the extreme, making elves some of the most loyal and devoted citizens of the Sorcerous Empire.

So it was in that spirit that Zesshi walked confidently down the long hall to kneel at the base of the steps that led to the Throne of Kings, where the Overlord of Death, the divine ruler who presided over the greatest age of prosperity they had ever known, sat patiently and let the Queen speak.

Her eyes lowered humbly, "Great Lord, your loyal servant, Queen Zesshi Zetsumei, presents herself, that she may know your will."

"Raise your head, Queen Zesshi Zetsumei, and be welcome. I hope the next few days you will permit me to provide you and your retinue with all the comforts of Nazarick in recognition of your fine service to the Sorcerous Empire." Ainz spoke with a noble tone, and she was once again struck by his overwhelmingly noble, powerful aura. This was what the term 'unbeatable' was coined to describe.

Zesshi looked up into his blank skeletal face and felt only reverential awe for the being who, more than any other, even more than Neia Baraja herself, had set her people, her family, free. "My Lord, it is a great privilege that you extend unto me and mine, and so I accept it with a grateful spirit."

Ainz relaxed mentally even as he held the formal posture of kingship. After so long, he had ample experience with this kind of thing and with that familiarity came comfort he'd only dreamt of when he'd first entered the New World.

"Your service merits nothing less, Queen Zesshi Zetsumei, please rise, and be escorted to your quarters, if there is anything you require for your comfort, do not hesitate to ask." Ainz replied with easy confidence.

"If I may, My Lord, may your humble servant request to use the guest residence on the sixth floor?" She asked politely.

"You may." Ainz said magnanimously, "Aura, Mare, please show her to it." He instructed.

"At once, My Lord." The twins replied from the side wall where they'd been standing. They moved to either side of her, and as they did so, Ainz caught a glimpse of their expressions, Mare a little nervous, Aura glaring at Zesshi with daggers in her eyes.

'It begins.' Ainz thought, curious, concerned, optimistic, and anxious, all at once, about just how it would all play out.


	2. A Battle of Women

The Undiscovered Country

Written by: AtheistBasementDragon

Edited by: The Usual Gang of Drunken Perverted Idiots

Chapter 2

**AN: Reviews welcome. Support my original works on p a treon dot com slash tellingstories.**

**This is chapter two of a commissioned piece.**

_...Nazarick…_

The servants and attendants that had come with Queen Zesshi broke off to follow the maids of Nazarick to where they would gather the things they required for their stay. Zesshi had made a point on ensuring that anyone coming to the home of their master was extensively briefed on courtesy and manners, nobody would ever disgrace the elven province under her rule, that much she had always been determined on. So they followed in perfect rhythm, two steps behind the maids and in total silence, silence that would hold until they were taken to work with any Nazarick residing servants during the remainder of their stay.

Mare and Aura walked on opposite sides of the half elf Queen in silence that waxed and waned from uncomfortable to hostile, which only made it more uncomfortable. Zesshi had once thought herself the most powerful being in the world, the notion seemed laughable now. She was in a realm filled with beings that could crush her without even trying, and two of them were escorting her now. Mare didn't seem to mind, he held his staff a little tighter than he might have if he were relaxed, but beside her on the right, Aura held profound dislike in the corner of the blue eye that was fixed on her. She held her hands behind her back and walked with pronounced casualness until they arrived at the sixth floor, at which point she said, "Mare, why don't you go have our servants see to the stocking of goods for the guest quarters here, I'll take her the rest of the way."

"O-Okay, sister." Mare said anxiously as he walked off towards their home tree.

Aura led Zesshi on quietly until they reached the sizable tree on one end of the lake, it was on a low rise that gave a beautiful view of the area, the great wide lake, the little island in the middle of it where a small stone building stood surrounded by cattail plants around which dragonflies flew rapidly. On the shore, there were a few treants slowly walking, and some birds chirped from the woods at the back of the elegant home. The home itself was carved into not 'one' tree, though only one seemed to have an entrance at the base, instead it was a great tree house, a door carved into the tree, which in turn opened up to a hall forty feet in circumference, from the outside Zesshi could see that the branches from one grew to the other creating what were most likely interconnecting hallways, that in turn tied to other trees, creating an interlocked estate with numerous floors and circular purpose built rooms, when she walked within the open door that Aura held ajar for her, she looked around duly impressed. "You make wonderful things here." Zesshi said sincerely.

"My brother made this." Aura said frostily as the door closed shut behind her. A chill that matched her cold tone settled over Zesshi, though she for a moment had been impressed by the way furniture seemed to have been carved into the wooden interior itself, then polished to a shine, the closing door and frosty tone marked a change in the atmosphere that the veteran warrior could not miss.

She turned around and found herself staring eye to eye with Aura, who was not more than a few inches away. "Lady Aura?" Zesshi said, her black and white hair bounced behind her as she instinctively stepped back. Aura stepped forward as if initiating a dance. The black and white eyes of the half elf queen were not those of a coward, but she knew quite well that she was no match for the guardian who stood so close to her that she could smell the earthy scent of the fields and forest on her body.

Aura spoke through gritted teeth, pressing herself close enough to Zesshi that her breasts pressed against those of the half elf. There was nothing of pleasure at the motion, only anger. "I know what you want from my brother, I've known for a hundred years, he's mine, and you can't have him, do you understand me?"

'OK, this took a… well maybe not unexpected turn, but it is certainly far more blunt and abrupt than I was expecting out of her. Damn.' Zesshi thought, and unable to think of how else to respond to defuse the aggression of Mare's sister, she pretended to completely misunderstand. "Wait, you're… that way with each other?" Zesshi asked in a tone that perfectly mimicked genuine surprise.

Aura's hostile tight clenched jaw fell open when the guest asked such a question. Out of all the responses she might have expected, violence, denial, anger, or what she most expected, raw fear, this 'misunderstanding' was not even on the list. "No! Of course not! But… He's my little brother! Nobody's good enough for him, specially someone like you!" Aura snapped.

"Someone like me?!" Zesshi said with equal frostiness. "What is that supposed to mean?!" She demanded.

"Someone like you, means someone who doesn't give a damn about him." Aura snarled and grabbed Zesshi by the jaw, she held her gaze tight, "My brother is sensitive, emotional, nobody gets to hurt him, nobody gets to shame him, nobody gets to embarrass him. And definitely…" She leaned in closer and whispered into Zesshi's ear without releasing her grip on the elf Queen's jaw, "nobody gets to just use him. That's what you want, to take him away from me just to use him for your own satisfaction. Do your business here with my Lord, then go home, but if you hurt my brother, if I have even a hint of it, I will make you wish I'd just killed you. Am I understood?" Aura's voice was so filled with wrath as she whispered into the ear of the beautiful half elf Queen that her tone was almost dusky.

Most would have been put off by a threat from Lady Aura, but Zesshi Zetsumei was not just anyone. She whispered her answer in return, "Oh, so you don't trust your brother then?" Aura squeezed the jaw she was still grasping, just a little bit tighter, it hurt, but Zesshi could deal with hurt. She grunted in spite of herself, then forced the words out in spite of the sharp pain. "You think he's so lightly discarded as that? Do you think him so undesirable that I could not genuinely want him? I feel sorry for him, to have a sister who puts so very little worth to him on his own merits." Aura squeezed tighter, much more and Zesshi was sure her jaw would crack.

For a moment, Zesshi thought she had gone too far, but then Aura stepped back and pushed her away in anger, Zesshi staggered for only a step, for that single instant the Queen wondered if she would have to fight the vastly more powerful floor guardian. But Aura just stared at her in silence. "He's mine, you hurt him, you die, tell me you understand, or you die here first." Aura's words were hissed out through teeth that had clenched again.

Zesshi rubbed her jaw briefly, "I do." She replied.

"Any male would have done for you, go fight Demiurge, he'll crush you, and he won't mind giving you a good hard rut to produce what you want, after all, anyone who can beat you would do just as well, if I were a man instead of a woman, having you would be 'easy' for me." She said, looking at Zesshi in contempt.

Zesshi looked back at her through eyes as placid as the lake beyond the walls of the guest house. "He's a man now, not a boy, he can make his own choice, and while I won't deny my… impulses," she said delicately, "I've grown to… appreciate, your brother over the years, and I'm not going to apologize for anything about myself. If you have so little faith in your brother… then let's settle this now, then you can explain to your Lord why you killed a peaceful guest for liking one of his servants." She said that last part archly, a stark reminder that Zesshi hadn't actually done anything, it caught the dark elf woman off guard, finally she huffed in frustration and relaxed.

The danger had passed, and the air had mostly 'cleared' when Mare walked in with his servants and several maids carrying food stuffs, towels, and other supplies. "Everything alright?" Mare asked, he was relaxed at the moment, and so did not stutter, though his innocent eyes passed from his sister to their guest with questions rising in his mind.

The maids passed by and began their work, leaving the three alone, perhaps because Mare hadn't been there and Zesshi had reason to remain, but it was Aura who was the first to 'blink' away from renewing the tension. "Everything is fine, Mare." She said, and walked out, as she left she looked back and said, "Your counterparts are due to arrive in the next few hours, expect someone to fetch you then, don't be late." Aura added, and walked away.

When it was just Mare and Zesshi, he rubbed the back of his head and looked half away from her, "I don't think my sister likes you much."

"No, no she definitely does not." Zesshi said, suddenly finding herself at a loss for words. Struggling for something to say, she blurted out, "Well, can you give me a tour of my temporary quarters, I haven't stayed here before."

"Oh, of-of course." Mare said, and stepped quickly past her, room by room he guided her through the guest home.

"It's hard to believe you really made 'all' this." Zesshi praised him as she strolled beside him.

"Well, the tree did most of the work." Mare joked, Zesshi laughed a little, "I just had to guide the growth of area by area it took a few days to get everything done, but it was worth it."

"I should say so. Good looks, power, and talent, what don't you have?" Zesshi said with a teasing smirk.

"A clue, according to my sister." Mare said with a hint of annoyance.

That caused Zesshi to raise an eyebrow and look at him cockeyed.

He shook his head, his long gold hair bounced at his back, "I'm pretty smart you know." He said.

"I know." Zesshi replied.

"I talked to the Sorcerer King, Lord Ainz told me everything." He said.

"Oh." Zesshi's voice was serious. "And?" She asked.

"If I tell you to leave me alone, will you do it?" He asked with equal seriousness.

"Yes." She said, then reached over and touched his forearm, "You know where I came from, right?" She asked.

"Yes." He said, "I understand the place was a nightmare, but… so?"

Zesshi shook her head, "Imagine your sister living such a nightmare."

That made him tense.

"That is how I felt when I realized what family, real family was going through, so whatever my faults, I'm not going to press you into anything. You tell me to leave you alone… I'll do it." She said quietly. "So? What do you say?" Zesshi asked hesitantly.

Mare fidgeted with his staff for a moment, "Most people outside of Nazarick are… well to me, they're like rocks that talk, I don't really care about them, never did, but… every now and then, one of the rocks almost seems to come to life when I get to know them. I've gotten along with Tuare, Vanysa, and Neia, along with a few others."

It wasn't every day you learned that you were much like a talking rock. But Zesshi handled it well enough, as they walked through the tree manor she asked, "Am I… alive, to you yet?" She asked.

Mare scratched his head, "I don't 'dislike' you at least. I'm not going to tell you to stop. The Sorcerer King, he told me some other things too, about what it was like to have, you know… children, a life with someone else, and my sister, well…" Mare laughed, "she can always be counted upon to provide her opinion on matters, she dragged a bunch of 'research' material from the Library of Ashurbanipal to me to show how bad these things are, but she missed something important."

"Oh? What was that?" Zesshi asked curiously.

"That everybody in those books kept trying, for some reason, whatever it was, they thought all they went through was worth it, even if the easiest thing would be to walk away. The weak tried to get stronger, the hurt tried to forgive, the hurtful tried to stop hurting, and the ones who hurt each other, tried to forgive and fix things. Why would they do all that, if what they got from it was without worth?" Mare asked innocently.

Zesshi reached out and touched his shoulder, "I'm not the… innocent, you are, when I was very young, and still living in the Slane Theocracy, before I decided what I really wanted, I had a few lovers, not to say I loved them, but… we had our moments before they died at least a few of them, I think they loved me. Even though things didn't work out how they wanted, well I don't think they ever regretted the good times. Neither did I really. I think that's kind of the point, good times are better with comrades, I didn't have many of those, hard to have equals when you're the strongest and have to be kept almost totally alone. But those who I did have, well they made a big difference. Can you imagine life without your sister, or the Sorcerer King, or your other comrades?" She asked.

Mare shook his head vigorously, "Absolutely not." He said with eyes wide at even trying to imagine the impossible.

"I think it must be like that, only… well you were created to be together, but normal life for the uncreated beings outside of this place, they choose to create a union on their own, without a higher being putting them together, it's why it sometimes can be hard." Zesshi suggested tentatively.

Mare thought that over as they walked, their footfalls the only sound on the wooden floor.

Finally he spoke up, "You know, when we first arrived in this world, Lord Ainz chose to visit my floor first, he came to the Arena to test his magic and created a being for my sister and I to fight. I was… well a little nervous if you want the truth, but after we were done, Lord Ainz gave us water to quench our thirst, I admired him for that, his mercy and kindness. He's like a father to me, for my sister, she's always longed for Lady Bukubukuchagama, but, for me, Lord Ainz, the one who stayed, he's enough. I lost what mother and goddess I might have had, and will never know why she abandoned me, but my lord who remained, he set the example I choose to follow." Mare said seriously as they gradually wound their way back toward the exit.

"I'm afraid I don't understand." Zesshi said gently.

"I'm saying I will follow both his example, and his advice." Mare said with a firm confidence that showed how much more grown up he was from the nervous little dark elf boy that had rammed her face into the dirt and thrown her bodily into the very lake she now looked upon as they exited the great tree house.

"You will?" She asked as she closed the door behind her.

Mare nodded. "Most of the time, I listen to my sister, I take her advice on all things, or nearly so. But this is different, I love her, but she is not without her blind spots. Tonight, after the delegates from the other provinces have come, and you have all concluded your business, I will come find you at your guest quarters, I will come alone, we can have dinner and speak more. Will that be alright?" Mare asked, his voice echoed his youth, but also his certainty that yes, it would be very alright.

Zesshi confirmed his belief with a smile, her long hair braided behind her bounced as she nodded, her black and white eyes held his own, "I would like that very much. Did you have some place in mind?" She asked warmly.

Mare waved his hand to the lake, "I've always liked that spot there. I usually create a chair of earth and grass, enjoy my books, and read in peace. I think it is the finest spot in Nazarick, though I'm sure the rest disagree." He gave a somewhat sheepish smile at his own bias, and once again Zesshi was struck by the abject and undeniable beauty that was found in this divinely made dark elf of equally unfathomable power.

Even had he not utterly defeated her, he was so irresistibly charming and handsome that she could easily have imagined desiring to feel his body entwined with hers. An innocent maiden had few true choices to herself, a powerless peasant had even fewer, but Queen of more… worldly adventures, could make many choices. However as she looked on that handsome face and watched his ears twitch with a lilting laugh and a smile that showed there lay a well of humor beneath the surface, she felt herself closing doors to choices that did not see his hand in hers. He twisted the staff in his free hand and touched his ear in what was perhaps a nervous gesture reflecting his youth, and Zesshi found grinning similarly.

"They might disagree, but I dare to say that they're wrong, it is a lovely spot, if there is a better spot in Nazarick, I have yet to see it. I'll be waiting for you with happy anticipation, when the evening session is at its end." The half elf Queen replied encouragingly.


	3. Explorations

The Undiscovered Country

Written by: AtheistBasementDragon

Edited by: The Usual Gang of Drunken Perverted Idiots

Chapter 3

**AN: OK, third chapter of a commissioned piece, hope you enjoy it, additional reminder because of course there is, you can find yet to be released Overlord fanfiction on my discord server where I offer exclusive content to server members. Invite is on the author page. I may be slowing my productivity for Overlord down just a bit to do more on my original work, but... hey it'll be worth it, well, unless you 'don't' read my original work. Then, well if I do it well, you're kind of missing out. (Also available on discord and my p a tre on). **

_...Nazarick…_

Queen Zesshi was thoroughly disinterested in ceremony, she participated in body, but her head, that was elsewhere. All she wanted was to be elsewhere. When the representatives of the Understone Province, the Alesian Province, and Aorli of the Elf Resettlements took their seats around the table with Zesshi, Albedo, all their collective advisors, and the Sorcerer King, her mind still wasn't 'in the game'.

The negotiations were for her, a tedium, while most government was almost by definition dull, she found that to be even more the case when there was something to look forward to. So she sat, she spoke in passing, they were, other than her half sister, casual acquaintances. Friendly allies maybe, but not friendly enough to take her mind off her real goal in Nazarick.

So it was a relief when talks closed for the evening. As she walked out, her pace was brisk, so brisk that it drew Aorli's attention. When they filed out, she rushed after Zesshi. "Sister! Is something wrong?" She said as she dashed up, her lovely blonde hair flying behind her, such was the pace of a fast walk for the half elf Queen, that the ordinary Aorli had to run to catch up.

She bent forward with her hands on her knees as Zesshi turned to her, she was breathing hard. "You need to run more." Zesshi said with a bit of humor to her voice, it prompted a gasp of laughter from the former slave, but she didn't disagree. She held up a hand to stop her from walking away.

"Zesshi, we haven't seen each other in awhile, I thought maybe we could, you know, take dinner together, catch up?" Aorli said with a tired smile.

"I'd love to, sister, and we will, but another time, I have somewhere I must be." Zesshi said cryptically.

"What could be so important?" Aorli said as she managed to straighten up.

"A promise to keep." Zesshi said with a neutral face.

Aorli looked at her with a searching gaze. "May I walk with you then?" She asked.

"Please do." Zesshi replied and gestured down the hall.

They fell into step together, and though Zesshi did not move as swiftly as before, her steps were still such that it was clear that Aorli had to move faster than her usual stride to keep pace.

After she'd grown accustomed to the rapidity of the pace Zesshi set, she asked, "So, who is it?"

Zesshi almost stumbled, "How…" She asked, aghast.

Aorli grinned, "I know my sister and I know how these things go. So, who is it, spill the beans?" She all but ordered.

Zesshi remained quiet for a moment as she contemplated refusal to answer. Then, she gave in, "Mare Bello Fiore, the sixth floor guardian. He's agreed to have a late dinner with me, I don't know what he'll say, or how it will go, or what we'll talk about but… over a hundred and fifty years ago, when he was still young…"

Aorli interrupted with her laughter, "The little boy in a dress who made you eat dirt? I'd almost forgotten that."

"Yes, he's grown into a fine, strong, beautiful man now, and, truth be told, I like him." Zesshi admitted.

"Well then, may this experienced girl offer some advice?" Aorli said, stepping quickly for a few paces ahead of Zesshi and then blocking her path.

"What is it?" Zesshi asked as she was brought up short. "I'm not exactly a virgin you know." She said, almost annoyed.

Aorli shook her head, "Not saying you know nothing, but your romantic sensibilities are about as sharp as a mace and blunt as one to the face."

Zesshi crossed her arms in front of her, "Fine, what is it?" She asked.

"I'm assuming that he's a bit on the innocent side, well don't pressure him. All emotion aside, people pair up because some aspect of the life they want, is best achieved by partnering up with someone who also has things going for themselves that are worthwhile. Maybe they're wrong, maybe they're right, but nobody sets out to hitch themselves to problems. I'm not saying lie, but don't make this all about your desires, try to connect with him at your best, and encourage the same. Draw out and build upon his happiness, so that he'll take interest in being with you again. Love isn't supposed to hurt…" She paused, "Well, unless you're Demiurge and Vanysa, those two… I really should have knocked first that day." She shuddered and shook off the thought. "Alright, well you get going, but I'll stop at your residence 'late' tonight, and I want details." She said with a teasing smile.

Zesshi was not one to blush, but being familiar with the pair of sadists who handled the R&I divisions of the Sorcerous Empire, and their… proclivities, she didn't blame her sister's shudder. "Alright, fine, but you'll have to show up 'late' just in case." Zesshi said with a smirk.

"Till then, sister." Aorli said with a grin as she stopped walking, and gave her a wave. "I'll head to the bar and drop by later."

"You do that." Zesshi said, and headed off alone.

She was quite happy when she got back to her quarters, the banal and constant boredom of her early years was a fading memory, not only because of her rule as Queen and its many tasks, but even before the last advent, the preparation of the Sorcerer King had brought about ever new challenges to test the power of his production, creating beings which drew ever closer to being able to challenge her. But most of all she had a constant satisfaction of knowing that one already had, one that was now a man grown to his years, and who was coming to see her very soon.

She had barely changed when there was a knock at her door, she rushed to it as swiftly as he could, with swift and rapid steps and flung the door open. Mare stood there, nicely dressed in something that wasn't quite formal, but wasn't quite 'battle attire' either. She herself was wearing a sky blue dress that would stand out among the fireflies and moonlight of the lake. "You weren't kidding about your timing." She said with a teasing smile.

Mare held his hand out, "Shall we go?" He asked.

"Lead the way." She said and put her hand in hiis.

He gave a very light tug to start the walk, and escorted her to the side of the lake, it was tranquil there, and she stood by while he used his magic to control the earth beneath his feet, up from the ground, a mound of grass began to rise, then another beside it, it bubbled like water rising to a boil as the twin mounds took shape before her eyes, until there was a place to sit with ease, then before them another mound began to rise, one that flattened out and inched as if it were crawling over the ground, closer to where the grassy chairs had taken shape. "There we go." Mare said with satisfaction.

"Amazing." Zesshi said, impressed.

"Thank you." He said, and gestured to the seat that nature and magic had provided them.

She lowered herself to the grass, it felt good, comforting.

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the wind longs to play with your hair." Mare said, and slipped his shoes off to push his feet into the soft earth, just enough to let it press back in turn. Zesshi looked at him curiously as she imitated the gesture.

"That is a beautiful expression, where did you hear it?" She asked.

"I read it, I like to spend time swinging in my hammock and reading my books." Mare replied.

"I envy you that." She said as she swept her hair behind her, to let the wind which had suddenly picked up, catch and play with her hair, it carried her contrasting white and black lockes gently off to the side behind her, as it also did with Mare's.

"How so?" He asked as he looked out over the broad lake.

"For over a hundred years, I learned almost nothing but how to get stronger, I was born to become a weapon. I did take to books later, but it was a long time before I truly felt at ease simply reading in peace. I have our common master for to thank for that." She said with a pleasant smile.

"He's changed the world." Mare said, "I was truly right when I called him kind, and praised his mercy."

"So it would seem." Zesshi said, "What kind of books do you like to read?" She asked.

"Comedy mostly, humor, and lots about magic too." He said enthusiastically.

"Do you think maybe I could borrow a few from the library here to take back with me after my time in Nazarick is done?" She asked hopefully.

Mare waved a hand confidently, "I think so. Our Lord loaned books to Vanysa when she was nothing but a mere human servant who had only served him for a few weeks, you've served for over a hundred and fifty years, it should be no problem at all."

"Good." Zesshi grinned, "Tell me, Mare, did any of those books that you read, have men and women doing… adult things together?" She asked.

He blinked a few times, enough that she saw the cat tails waving in the breeze had time enough to go back and forth at least three times before he answered.

"I know about romance, and… both Lord Ainz and many of the books I've read, they've spoken about things that men and women do together. I've never done any of it though." He hastily added.

"Aren't you a little bit curious?" Zesshi asked, reaching out and touching the back of his hand.

"A- A little." He said, suddenly anxious.

Zesshi relaxed, drawing back on the intensity she felt rising.

"It's alright, Mare. I'm not going to pressure you into anything you're not comfortable doing." She said gently.

His face relaxed, and she was once again swept up in those beautiful, powerful eyes of his. "Let's try a little something." She said, putting a little playfulness into her voice, it may or may not have sounded a little forced, not being used to such a tone, but she tried to do so as she took a coin out of her pocket.

"I'll flip this coin. Winner gets to ask one very small thing of the loser." She said with a sly look in her eye.

He thought it over, "Alright, which is which?" He asked.

"Easy," she said, "heads I win, tails you lose."

"Fine." He said reflexively as she flipped the coin in the air, it turned over and over, and then she snatched it and flipped it over to the back of her hand, bringing it up tails.

"There, I win." She said with a playful smugness.

"You win… but…" he paused and thought about 'exactly' what she'd said, and then he slapped his own face.

"Ugh, you tricked me!" He said emphatically.

"Just a little." She said teasingly.

"Well, a bet is a bet, what do you want?" He asked.

"Just a kiss, if it doesn't feel good, we stop, but… if you like it, well I'll let you, you, and only you, decide how far it goes." Zesshi said patiently, "Is that alright?" She asked hesitantly.

He thought it over again, and nodded quietly. "Al-Alright." He said.

She got up from the grassy chair and moved to the side of him, then moving one leg over, she gently lowered herself over where he sat, till she was straddling him, her black and white eyes met his blue and green, and held fast as a screw to hard wood. She hovered there, inches from him and slowly moved closer, till her lips touched his.

The touch of lips to lips was graceful, though Mare was very hesitant, Zesshi remembered the advice she'd been given, and she followed it, she did not press harder, though she ached for more, Mare's hands were stiff at first, locked to his chair and his hands squeezed the grassy armrests hard enough to wreck them. She held the tender kiss for perhaps twenty seconds, then moved back.

"How did that feel?" She asked, her eyes were not lustful in that moment, rather… curious, like an explorer stepping out to the edge of an unknown cliff, and finding some whole new land and wondering what they were about to see.

"Good. Y-You can do it again if-if you like." Mare said a little nervously.

She gave him a teasing smile. "Alright." She said, and kissed him again, her lips lingered longer, and pressed a little more firmly, and Mare's hands began to move, she felt them catch her at her hips and clasp her firmly, she let him draw her in, and then she drew back, again her curious eyes met his.

"Do I… feel like a talking rock now?" She asked, bemused.

"No." He said with a breathless calm, "Much… softer, though I can feel your strength… I want to do that again."

"As you wish." She said with a wink, and obliged him, this time as they melted into an embrace, she let his hands move over her back and her tongue parted his lips to find a taste of the only male to defeat her, the only one she wanted. She pressed her body closer to him, so that he could feel her breasts and the heartbeat racing beneath them.

She didn't plan on halting a single possible exploration that he might be intent upon, as she saw it, this visit's occasion could not have come at a better time, there was a chance that desire unleashed within her could fulfill her own wish of centuries. His hands began to move in greater earnest, and she could feel the desire rising in his own body she didn't have to ask to know he was enjoying her scent, her taste, her touch.

Still, she took a moment to whisper into his ear before she dared to nibble at it, "If you want to go farther, you'll have to undress me."

Mare did not have the wide, toothy smile of his sister, but as his lips turned up, his smile in the light of the fireflies and the moon was true and sincere, and his voice, when he spoke, did not have the nervousness that Zesshi expected.

"OK." He said, and Zesshi pushed herself from him into a standing position, she then turned her back to him and lifted her hair.

"Undo the trio of buttons there." She said, pointing to the top back of her dress.

Mare was standing up to do just that, when a shout came out of nowhere. "Oh no you don't!" The voice cried out, followed by a thunderous landing and an exploding cloud of dirt, which settled to reveal a very angry Aura Bella Fiore.

"Mare!" Aura shouted in anger and frustration as she stalked over, "Stop this! I won't let her have you! I won't let her hurt you! I won't accept this!" She stalked all the way over until she was between her brother and Zesshi. "Why can't you see that she's just using you?!" Aura shouted as a stunned Mare and Zesshi tried to return to their senses.

Mare recovered first, "S-Sister how…" He started to ask.

"We live together you dunce! When I found you gone, it was easy to figure out that she…" she pointed accusingly at Zesshi, "had stolen you away to use you."

"Oh." Mare looked embarrassed, then caught up to her and retorted, "S-Sister she's not 'stealing' me, I agreed to go, and she hasn't pressed me into anything! She's only tried to make me feel good!"

Aura froze, her mouth formed an O as she cast her look from one to the other, "Mare, if that's all you want, we have servants who would be more than willing to…" She cut her own speech off at the look of sudden anger that appeared on Mare's face.

Mare had never once looked at her with anger, not in all their lives. "Aura do you think I'm blind?! Do you think I don't see what is going on here?!" He demanded and walked over to her, he held her fast with strength that his timid and passive nature often made her forget he held within him.

"I'm not leaving, just because Lady Bukubukuchagama left, doesn't mean "I" will. I don't know what will happen tonight, or tomorrow, or a hundred years from now, but you'll always be my sister, you'll always be the only sister I ever have, do you think so little of my devotion to you that you'd begrudge me the same happy life that Demiurge or Sebas got?"

Aura hesitated, and Zesshi spoke up, "Lady Aura," she said patiently, "You won't be seeing your family shrink, you'll be seeing it 'grow'. I won't presume to 'know' how far your brother would be willing to go, but in the worst case, nothing happens, in the best case, you'll have nieces or nephews through him to dote upon. Would you begrudge him children or grandchildren for yourself?"

Caught betwixt and between, a moment's thought came to her, of a niece who looked much like herself, or a nephew bearing her brother's face toddling over to her and teaching them how to tame beasts. A growing family… the thought had not occurred to her, in all her haste and fear over the possibility of losing her brother, she had never once contemplated any other outcome, even when it should have been completely obvious.

"Damnitall!" She said with her eyes welling up as she looked at Mare, "It… but… I don't want to chance losing you! I can't! I can't fathom waking up in our tree without you!" She reached down and touched the watch left behind by her creator, and Mare reached down and grasped that place and held it firm.

"We've been apart before for work Aura," Mare said confidently, "but we're never far apart, Lord Ainz is the most generous ruler we could ask for, he'd never prohibit us from opening a gate to see each other, or prohibit you traveling with me, or… who said I'd even be leaving? Look, even Demiurge and Vanysa are apart for sometimes weeks or months, if they can make that work, then surely a brother and sister created by a supreme one can be loyal to each other no matter what!" He said with an iron in his voice that would have been beyond him in childhood.

"Mare… my little brother… somewhere along the way, you went and grew up, in ways I guess I didn't." Aura said, touching his chest which, all of a sudden seemed much less childlike, and himself much taller than he'd appeared to her eyes that morning, as if she were seeing him now as a man, and not as the child she'd always led around.

"Maybe I have, but no matter what changes, I'll always be your brother, let me make this choice for myself, whether it works out, or doesn't work out, will fall to me. Trust me, sister." He said, and leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

Aura clenched her fists and looked down angrily. "I know I said this already, but… damnitall." She whirled on Zesshi, "My little brother has painted me into a corner here, however that does not leave you with a free hand, woman. You send him back to me with a broken heart, and I will serve yours on a plate to my beasts while your living head watches in horror from the pike I've set it on. Am I clear?"

"Yes." Zesshi said bluntly having absolutely no doubt that she meant every word of it.

"Damnitall… neither of you better make me regret this." Aura said, and moved out of the way, leaving them unobstructed from one another again.

Zesshi, seeking to break the tension, said in a bemused voice, "She's scary."

"You have no idea." Mare replied with equal bemusement, and Zesshi put her back to him again. His fingers then reached out, and this time he was able to unbutton her dress without any interruption.


	4. Fulfillment

**AN: Well this has been a fun commission, it was a little outside my usual experience, but I think I did a respectable job on it. Reviews are welcome of course. Might do a bonus chapter later, but at this point, this story has run its course and is considered to be 'complete'. I'll be back to working on my original piece today, and if you'd like to read 'Scales of Trust' you'll either need to be on my discord, or visit the patron (with an e before the o) slash tellingstories.**

...Nazarick…By the Sixth Floor Lake...

Writers, poets, musicians, have made much of the ways of men and women entwined in desirous embrace down through the endless ages, and as Mare began to find when a touch without mana held power unimagined, they did not make such a fuss without good reason.

Zesshi exercised great care in allowing herself to be slowly disrobed, when only her black and white hair hid her from the back, and her sky blue dress tumbled into the shadow darkened grass, she stepped out of it and kicked it away. She kept her back to him, and let his hand touch her, there was nothing sexual about the place he touched, it was just the center space between her shoulder blades, yet she felt the touch of his heterochromatic eyes touch far, far more.

Time felt strange to her, an instant or an eternity, it could have been either and she could not have described the difference. She'd spent several lifetimes of man being unbeatable, having no equals, only to have her invincibility crushed by a child, a child who was now a man grown, and in whom a man's desires were now rising.

The word 'feminine' had never been much used before with her, not even by herself, and there was a time when she would have mocked the very notion, yet now under the eyes of the victor of one hundred and fifty years earlier, she thought that feeling of 'femininity' quite strongly, as the age old spell, that one which required no magical education to cast, fell over them both.

His hand wandered over her back in fascination, just fingertips alone really, but it was a thrilling touch nonetheless.

She turned her face left so that she was looking over her shoulder at him, "Should I turn around?" She asked, invitingly.

He couldn't form words, he only nodded, his elven ears twitched in anticipation, she stepped away from his touch, only by a single pace, but it might as well have been a chasm to him. She turned slowly, and then walked back into his still outstretched hand. It now fell upon her left breast, and his eyes, still fascinated, went wide.

"Is it… not like your books?" She asked with a bemused smile as her hands enfolded that single one that connected them.

"Th-They didn't do this justice…" He whispered out as if possessed.

"I may not be a talking rock…" She whispered in amused return, "but there are two hard little pebbles at least that you might like." She said and moved two of his fingers over her nipples.

From his perspective, she was absolutely right. "We can though, do far, far more than touch." She said, encouragingly. "For that however, you would also have to undress… would you… like me to help you?" She asked gently.

Again he nodded, his ability to form sentences, even stuttered ones, seemed to have vanished. She stepped closer, his arm drew back, allowing her to close, but never broke the connection between his body and her own. Gradually she worked, going slow, pausing every time she sensed hesitation, and proceeding only when she felt him relax in comfort.

Going so slow was a delicious torment that kept the anticipation building, Zesshi wanted to laugh at the urgency of her younger years, so eager, so rushed, this was much better. Allowing time to be taken let the desire grow, and when she pulled off his last shoe and cast it aside, she stood at last to admire the beautiful male specimen that was in front of her. She reached out, her first impulse was to reach for the staff that nature had given him to carry, but sensing this would be to much to soon, she touched his chest and let herself draw out an embrace that brought their lips together and their fingers to more of their gradual exploration of one another. Like some undiscovered country filled with new and hitherto now unknown delicacies, they sampled every spice and gesture, she felt at last the boldness of his hand grow as he reached down and touched her womanhood, she gasped into his ear, but whispered only "More." allowing him to become familiar with her intimately.

He too, was touched and did not flinch from the moment her hand wrapped round his staff and slowly caressed him. "You are beautiful." She whispered.

"I am as my creator made me." He said simply.

"I will tell that also, to your child." She whispered, and kissed her way down the length of his form until she was on her knees.

His eyes went wide, he had some hint of what she was about to do from books, yet he was so overwhelmed he was about to tell her to stop, that is until her lips engulfed him, and the words died on his tongue as he thought, 'OK, shut up Mare, let the lady have her way.'

She was not shy about stoking the fire within the dark elf guardian, and finally it was all he could do to say to her, "L-Lie down."

She obliged, if slowly, laying on her back and opening herself up to the warmth of his embrace, she guided him then, as she had in all other things up to this moment, and his exploration of her body ventured into a new land, that which lay within. Out of the Guardians of Nazarick, there were three heralded as the greatest of Geniuses. Demiurge, Albedo, and Pandora's Actor. Mare, though not the genius of the other three, was intelligent in his own right, and he proved a quick study, learning the rhythm of the oldest dance in nature under the guidance of a most enthusiastic teacher.

When their pleasure boiled over into climax, Mare collapsed atop Zesshi as if exhausted from a fierce battle. Nor was he alone in breathing hard, she did as well, but managed to laugh as he collapsed and said to him, a mere inch from his ear, "I didn't make you work this hard when you defeated me last time."

He blushed and laughed at her joke, "I hope you aren't vanquished now as easily as you were then, because I'm ready to go again." He said enthusiastically.

Her thighs went up and her legs hooked around him, "You'd better be." She winked her white eye and wrapped her arms around him as well.

When morning came, they awoke, they had fallen asleep still entwined like vines around a great tree.

Mare stood up reluctantly, then reached down and helped Zesshi to her feet. "Aura was right about one thing." He said as he walked towards the water of the lake to bathe.

Zesshi raised an eyebrow, "Bringing up your sister while naked with another woman is… a little odd." She critiqued.

He smirked, "Maybe, but relevant this once, something she said to me." He said as he descended deeper into the waters to clean the night's exertions from his skin.

"What's that?" Zesshi said as she entered the water behind him.

"I told her I could always say 'no' and she replied that men as a rule, didn't do that." He said, still holding the smirk as he splashed his face.

"I may have my differences with your sister, but in that, well, she's right. A few years ago some franchises of Vanysa's sandwich shop started popping up in my province, they offer something called 'chips' and they're brought to the table as an appetizer. People just naturally seem to reach for them as long as they're available. I think it is a little like that." Zesshi matched his smirk.

"What do you mean?" Mare asked curiously.

"Just like if chips are there, a person will just take them, if sex is available, a man will have some." She laughed a little at the jest and reached back to bind her hair again.

Mare scratched his head as he thought that over. "I don't know about that…" He said.

"Oh yeah?" Zesshi asked, then approached and reached for him again. He was half way into the act before he realized she was making a point, and by then he didn't care that he was proving her right.

After they were 'finally' cleaned up and dressed, Mare was silent.

"Thinking about something?" Zesshi asked.

"Yes, just, you are still planning on leaving after this conference is over, aren't you?" He asked as he buttoned his shirt.

"Eager to be rid of me, or hoping I'll stay?" She asked, mentally prepared for either answer.

"M-More th-the latter actually." He said with some reluctance at the admission.

She nodded, "Yes, I must, I am still Queen, I have my duties, but you can come see me whenever you want, and… if you'll have me, I'd love to come back here. Just don't make to much of a fuss over either with Aura. It's probably unhealthy for me to make her jealous." Zesshi's expression was warm and relaxed, and it seemed to bring out the same in Mare.

"I just realized something." He said with surprise.

"What?" Zesshi asked.

"We were going to have dinner. We completely forgot!" He rolled his eyes.

"Well I was OK with one long extended dessert." She gave him a salacious smile and as she approached him, she kissed him, more confidently than when they had first touched lips the night before, and he returned it with equal confidence, savoring a meal finer than any prepared by even the world's greatest chefs.

"I'd better go, there is still one more day of negotiations to finish off some final details, and I fully expect both our sisters to grill us without mercy about what happened." Zesshi said with some reluctance.

"Oh, wonderful." Mare said as he picked up his staff as he contemplated Aura waiting at home with folded arms.

"Well, Aorli will probably want lewd details for her own amusement but… I don't envy you Aura's questions." Zesshi said sympathetically.

"Me neither, but I'll live, however for your own wellbeing, well I think I'll skip out on the sendoff when you go home today." Mare said.

"That is probably for the best, but… do come see me in my homeland soon, it is not Nazarick, but it is home to me, and it is beautiful in its own way." Zesshi said hopefully as she extended the invitation.

"Plan on it." Mare said firmly, and then they walked away from the shore the morning breeze blew the cattails on the island in the center back and forth, and dragonflies raced among them again, sometimes alighting on the little stone building there, sometimes landing on a cattail and causing them to sway more, in a strange way, to Zesshi, it looked as if they were waving goodbye.

When the Queen returned to her temporary residence, her half sister was waiting up for her still. "Either you forgot, or it was better than expected. That was what I'd planned to say, but… judging by the way you're walking, the latter is the only possibility." Aorli said with a giggle.

Zesshi didn't even try to deny it, she stretched languorously in front of her sister and said only, "Damn right. I suppose the details will have to wait though, we probably have to be at the meeting soon.

Aorli shook her head, "Lord Ainz sent out word that it was to be delayed by twelve hours today."

Zesshi's eyes went wide, "He didn't…" She said in disbelief.

"He did, he's very wise." Aorli said sagely.

"Then have a servant bring wine, I'll tell you everything, then get some sleep and be ready for later." Zesshi said enthusiastically as Aorli reached for the bell to summon a servant.

When Mare returned to the tree he shared with his sister, she was, just as predicted, sitting in a chair and staring at the door with her arms folded unhappily, a glare seemingly painted permanently on her face.

"Sister?" Mare asked.

"I told you that you wouldn't say no." She said.

"Well you were right about that, and I'm not sorry I didnt." Mare answered as he shut the door behind him.

"What happens now, are you going with her when she leaves?" Aura asked, the anger melting away and a vulnerable expression replaced it. Her left hand formed a fist and her right hand covered it over the fingers, her lips formed a straight line across her face and her eyes were open and locked on him.

"No, I stay here, this is my home, this will always be my home. Just like you will always be my sister." He said and he set the staff aside.

"I… I know part of why she left us." Aura said quietly.

It took Mare a moment to piece together what she meant.

"I kept it from you, I'm sorry, but you should know, it's part of why I've been… this way, over you and 'her'." Aura said tentatively.

Mare was stunned, he couldn't speak, he approached and sat in the wicker chair across from his sister and just looked at her in expectation.

"Peroroncino, her brother, he'd fallen in with a girl, it kept him out of the tomb. I learned this one day while Lady Bukubukuchagama was doing something with me here, I don't understand what she was talking about at the time with that, but she was muttering about her brother and his going away over a girl, she sounded sad. It was after that, that she stopped coming around as often, like it wasn't the same without him, and then… well…" Aura touched the watch on her wrist for reassurance, "you know then. Eventually she stopped coming at all. A girl took her brother away, and that took her away from us… and now you… with a girl…" Aura's eyes welled up with tears.

"I just don't want it to happen to us, if it could happen to the supreme beings, it could happen to anyone… I'm sorry I kept that piece of knowledge from you as long as I did, I should have told you a long time ago, but I didn't see you as a man, just my little sensitive brother who was always nervous. Maybe if I had, well maybe I'd feel differently now, maybe you'd have felt differently last night, but I can't make these choices over again, what is done is done." Aura said with resignation.

Mare knew he should have felt outrage at her concealing such knowledge from him, but at that moment all he could feel was sadness for her, for the burden she'd carried, and regret for the anxiety he had unwittingly and ignorantly made worse, even if it had been due to her choice that it had been made so.

"Sister… Aura... " Mare stood and came close to her, he knelt where she sat, and leaned in to let her arms fall around him. He returned the embrace.

"No matter what, nothing will take me away, like Lord Ainz, I will also stay, and be your brother until the end of time. You'll never lose me, never, no matter what happens with anyone else, ever, I promise you." He said sensitively.

"That's twice you've promised me this, so that's double trust, never break it, or you will break my heart beyond repair." Aura said, and kissed Mare's forehead.

"Some things change, and some things never do, and that is one that never will." Mare said in response.

Mare was true to his word that evening when the last day of negotiations concluded, and he did not appear at the closing ceremony.

It had at least been productive, the two dwarven provinces agreed to provide the supervisory instruction and some of the fine labor work in the red crystal harvesting, while the Sorcerer King provided the undead labor, to the surprise of absolutely no one, while in turn Zesshi's people provided transportation, and a research and processing facility was to be established in the province under Aorli, while the Sorcerer King held control over their general use and distribution through a strict licensing system.

Demiurge's Research division was ecstatic, while Vanysa's Intelligence division was quick to reallocate some of their death sentenced captives to the Research division for that purpose. As always, the efficiency and carefully balanced interests were folded into the machinery of Nazarick's ever rising power to best effect, and everyone came away not only having gained something, but having intertwined their interests in such a way that it was made even more impossible to imagine not being part of the same nation. Predictably, the King of the quagoa asked for a sample of the crystals for his warriors to see what would happen, and this became an immediate priority, which elevated their people in importance.

But all of that was minor to Zesshi, caught up as she was in her own thoughts, Mare's absence the day of her departure weighed a little more heavily on her than she expected, but it wasn't as if she didn't know his thoughts already, so she brushed the petty resentment aside as unworthy, and simply enjoyed the fact that she could miss him a little. He hadn't said he loved her, nor had she said it herself. She had become more than a talking rock at least, and she thought she felt some kindling fondness. Still she kept her expectations restrained, and bade farewell with the other rulers, from her knees before the Throne of Kings. They were all lined up, and one by one as they said their peace, a gate opened and they filed through back to their own homes, scattered about the Sorcerous Empire, traversing hundreds of miles in a single instant.

Finally it was Zesshi's turn, and she felt the red orbs of Ainz Ooal Gown linger on her that much more strongly than they had on any of the others, it was unsurprising, given the circumstances of the previous few days. But she felt that they were not filled with hostility, as Aura's had been. Rather it was a kind of quiet expectation of his own that was growing, she wondered what it was he saw when he raised his skeletal hand and said a few words so quietly that even she, with her sensitive hearing, could not tell what he had uttered. Beside him, she saw the eyes of Albedo and Demiurge expand in unspoken shock.

But then the gate appeared, and she was dismissed without getting to ask her question, she stood, bowed once, and filed through as the others before her, and found herself again in her throne room before her waiting subjects.

A piece of her was regretful about having left Nazarick, or rather, Mare, behind, however it was a small voice within her head and she was able to ignore it well enough, and threw herself into the bustle of the work of ruling a wealthy province. She traded correspondence with Mare over the days immediately after, though work establishing the new resource trade kept her busy, and Mare oversaw the reshaping of land in the colonies, thus they were not able to visit one another again nearly as soon as either had expected they might.

Nonetheless if it ached within either to much, that was not obvious by their correspondence, which often included books being traded back and forth or talk of mundane pleasures and activities, little enough was said that could be compared to fluttering hearts, but it was a pleasant companionship, even with distance. That was no doubt part of why Aura was able to become a little more at ease with her brother's growing familiarity with the half elf Queen, and in turn also why Mare grew more comfortable talking about their correspondence to his sister in turn.

So it was that one bright morning day, some two months after Zesshi had come to Nazarick, that Mare lay in his hammock reading one of Zesshi's letters when he called his sister over. "Aura!" He shouted.

She came outside where he was rocking back and forth beneath the shade of their tree home, "Yeah, what do you want Mare?" She asked casually.

"Turns out Zesshi was right about something too." He said.

She looked at him cockeyed, "What?" She was a trifle confused.

"You will be seeing your family grow. Looks like you're going to be an aunt." Mare said with a toothy smile that might have been taken off his sister's face for the sheer breadth and enthusiasm of it all, and he held the letter out to her.

She snatched it up in disbelief and read it several times, then lowered it slowly and looked at her little brother. "Well there is only one thing to do then, isn't there?" She asked.

"What?" He asked, uncertain of what she meant.

"We need to go to Lord Ainz and request time off to go see to the birth of my niece or nephew, and you've got to take responsibility, little brother." Aura said with a cocky smile on her face and her hands on her hips.

"You're right, let's go see him now, I'm sure he'll want to hear the news first." Mare said as he hopped out of the hammock.

"Race you there." Aura said with a grin.

"You never change, do you, sister?" Mare asked.

"Nope, some things never change." Aura said proudly.

"And some things do." Mare replied, and giving in to his sister once more, they started to run.


End file.
